Various highway-railway crossings have heretofore been provided; however, because of certain design characteristics they have been beset with one or more of the following shortcomings: (a) they are susceptible to rapid deterioration because of moisture accumulating beneath the ties at the crossing; (b) they are incapable of providing adequate drainage of the exposed surface thereby rendering said surface hazardous to both highway and railway traffic; (c) the crossing is difficult and awkward to construct and install and requires an inordinate amount of manual labor; (d) the crossing utilizes customized components which are designed to be disposed in precise locations, are not capable of being interchangeable or inverted with respect to other components, and/or are difficult to modify so as to compensate for physical variations encountered at the crossing site; (e) they are incapable of being utilized with a variety of highway constructions; and (f) they require costly and frequent maintenance and repair.